[Protein E 98-113 sequence is a fusion site of tick-borne encephalitis virus with cellular membrane].

The synthetic peptide with the conservative 98-113 sequence of protein E of tick-borne encephalitis virus was studied in order to elucidate its role in the functioning of flaviviruses. The peptide was shown to inhibit the in vitro infection of macrophages with the virus. An antibody that specifically binds this peptide was found among the set of monoclonal antibodies produced against protein E. This antibody was found to prevent penetration of the virus into liposomes. A correlation was found between our results and data on the spatial structure of protein E and its interspecies homology. The protein E 98-113 sequence of the tick-borne encephalitis virus was found to be the fusion site of the viral envelope with a cellular membrane.